Gamecocks stay at No. 8 in AP poll, Clemson moves to No. 12

COLUMBIA, SC (TheBigSpur.com) The Gamecocks (10-2) have been ranked 63 consecutive weeks in the poll, which extends their school record-long streak. South Carolina is tied with Stanford for fifth-longest current streak of being ranked in the AP Top 25.

South Carolina is also ranked No. 8 in the final Coaches' Poll of the regular season released on Sunday morning.

There is a new No. 1, and it isn't an SEC team, after Alabama dropped its first game of the season with a 34-28 loss to Auburn. FSU is the new top team in the country, according to the AP Poll.

Auburn beat Missouri 59-42 in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday afternoon at the Georgia Dome. With the win coupled with the Ohio State loss, Auburn will play in the BCS National Championship game. The Tigers from the Yellowhammer State are ranked No. 2 in the latest AP Poll behind only Florida State.

The Tigers from the Show Me State are ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll of the regular season. Conventional wisdom believes that Missouri will fall past the Sugar and Capital One Bowls and will play in either the Cotton or the Outback.

The rest of the SEC had Saturday off but there were a few changes in the polls with conference championships and a smattering of other final regular season games.

Alabama moved up a spot and is ranked No. 3 in the poll. LSU stayed steady at No. 14 while Texas A&M moved up two spots to No. 20 nationally. Georgia also moved up two spots and is ranked No. 23 in the final AP Poll released prior to bowl games.

The Clemson Tigers moved up one spot in the AP Poll to No. 12.

South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier will meet with the media on Sunday night at 8:45 to discuss the team's bowl destination. Exams start on Monday at the university. A practice schedule, if the team does practice this week, has not been released.

LSU football fans ready to grab autographs and take pictures with their favorite Tiger players and coaches at the school's annual Fan Day will have to wait a little while. Sports information director Michael Bonnette confirmed to WAFB-TV that the event has been moved to the spring, in conjunction with the Tigers' spring football game. |^